NCTFG Podcast Episode 1 Transcript – Toshia Jordan
Megan Faber: Welcome to an episode of the North Carolinians for a Tobacco Regeneration podcast. I’m your host, Megan, and in each episode, we interview an expert or professional in the field of tobacco control and prevention, asking about North Carolina policies and their work to prevent the initiation of tobacco use and to educate the public about the harms of commercial tobacco use. Whether you’re curious about the landscape of tobacco prevention in North Carolina or you’re well versed in this topic, you’ve come to the right place. Join us as we learn more about tobacco use and prevention and connect with local experts in North Carolina. Today, we are highlighting the work of Toshia Jordan from the Fuquay-Varina Coalition for a Healthy and Safe Community. This coalition built collaborative partnerships to reduce alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among youth in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, by empowering the community and youth to educate others and change policies. In this episode, we interview Toshia and talk a bit about her work with this program.
Toshia Jordan: So my name is Toshia Jordan, and I’m currently the coalition coordinator for Fuquay-Varina Coalition for a healthy and safe community. I work for the post center. The post center actually got a grant to focus just in Fuquay-Varina, and that’s what the coalition is. And so the post center, you know, they work across North Carolina, and we were able to get a grant to focus in Fuquay-Varina around substance use prevention. I’ve been doing tobacco prevention work for a very long time. Like, started around 2004. Like, it’s been a bit. This current position started in 2020.
Megan Faber: What do you think are the most pressing issues regarding tobacco control in North Carolina?
Toshia Jordan: I think one would definitely be youth cessation. Because if you look at the numbers and see how, like, the vaping rates skyrocketed over a certain period of time, and we know how addictive some of those products can be, then there may be youth, and I’m sure there are, that are addicted, that may be keeping their use a secret. And so being able to provide a safe environment, a safe place for them to be honest, but also to have youth friendly resources and programs that can help them would be amazing. So I think that’s a big thing that we need to focus on.
Megan Faber: What do you think the state could do to improve tobacco control in North Carolina?
Toshia Jordan: I think definitely working with the schools, I mean, I think that is a key area where, you know, the students are there the majority of the day, and then just building in some prevention and cessation right there would be amazing. And I think it would go a long way in a lot of different areas with just having a safe environment, having trusted adults. Like, there’s a lot of pieces that would be addressed by focusing on these needed activities in the school.
Megan Faber: How have you championed tobacco control efforts in your role or within North Carolina?
Toshia Jordan: Well, within North Carolina, it’s been a little bit. A while ago, I actually worked with a program called picture me tobacco free. And it was a photovoice. And so basically we had youth groups in the churches, and they kind of just started documenting what was going on in their community. And so I kind of started way back when doing that, and then what came out of that program was a tobacco free church ground effort, where we started encouraging churches to not only educate and bring awareness in their churches, but also to actually make sure that their grounds are tobacco free. You would think that would be normal and a given, but not necessarily. And so we work to do some of that work across North Carolina. And currently I’m working more locally in Fuquay-Varina, where we’re focusing on middle school and high school students and just trying to see what are the needs around substance use prevention and then kind of meeting those needs within this local setting.
Megan Faber: What drew you to work with populations directly in their communities?
Toshia Jordan: I’ve always worked with youth. Right. And now that I’m a mom, I really want the best for not only my youth, but youth in general. And so when I see the need, typically I want to meet it, you know? And so that’s kind of what’s going on now, just hearing things from what’s going on at the different schools or in the community and trying to figure out, okay, I know there’s resources that can help address this in a better way, maybe, or just in a new way and pulling those together to kind of make a difference. So that’s kind of just a passion just to kind of address and kind of support the youth because they are future. So, yeah, so definitely.
Megan Faber: Have you had any standout moments with youth in the community that have kind of encouraged you to keep doing this work?
Toshia Jordan: I think when, like, I’ll see youth at different things in the community and their response and, I mean, even sometimes coming up giving me hugs, or when they see me at the school again with the table and their eyes light up and they know that they can come, they know they can get resources, they know that I’m going to be light, you know, I’m not going to be super intense. And also, just like, I had gotten a number of thank you notes from a couple classes that I had shared with. And it’s just amazing how they were just so thankful that I took the time, and I feel like that’s just like a. Like a basic thing. And they were just so thankful and so much so that they shared, you know, different things that they had already started implementing or where they put their decals or whatever, and it’s just so important. Or them sharing it with others, which I think is huge. Sharing it with their friends, because, you know, we can only get to so many students, but if they feel passionate enough about it to share it with their friends, their clubs, their groups, that is huge.
Megan Faber: I think that is really the quintessential meaning of having a trusted adult. When you see someone and you know that you can talk to them, you’re excited to see them, you know that they’ll support you. That’s powerful. What are the goals of the Fuquay-Varina coalition for a healthy and safe community?
Toshia Jordan: So our mission is to really support middle school and high school youth around substance use prevention. So that is our main focus. We focus on vaping. We focus on alcohol use as well as marijuana use and underage students. But because mental wellness is such a big issue that has come up, and we now focus a lot on that as well.
Megan Faber: Could you describe a little bit in your words how you think mental health is tied so closely to substance use?
Toshia Jordan: Well, I feel like if you and I always talk about going upstream, but a lot of times youth decide to use substances is because of feeling overwhelmed or something going on in the mental health realm. And so if we can go upstream and we can kind of address those issues, or we can give them coping strategies to address those issues or provide them with trusted adults, then we’re hoping that they will choose the healthy alternative versus substances. And so it’s directly related because a lot of times, youth get their advice from other youth, and they feel like that once a couple trial, which we know more than a couple have tried it, then that’s just the thing. If someone’s overwhelmed, someone’s stressed out, they’re like, will try this. And so we want to kind of, you know, help them to understand there’s other alternatives. This is opening up a can of worms that you don’t want to go down. But we do care. We do see you. We know that you’re overwhelmed. We know that you’ve got a lot going on, and we want to get you help, but there’s better ways to do it. So it’s really directly related when you just kind of step back a little bit. Yeah.
Megan Faber: Yes, absolutely. So diving in a little bit deeper into the brain development aspect of this. How do you think nicotine impacts brain development, particularly among middle and high school students?
Toshia Jordan: Well, because we know that the brain doesn’t fully. The human brain doesn’t fully develop to the age of around 25. That last part of the brain that develops is that prefrontal cortex, which is your learning, memory, and attention, like those things. I think we can really agree that we kind of need those. Those are really important. And because the brain is still developing, nicotine use can negatively affect that development. And so a lot of times, students don’t know that. So we can kind of introduce them to that information because it’s super important. But, yes, definitely because of the development. We really want to get the word out that nicotine is not a good idea.
Megan Faber: I’m sure you have experience telling youth directly how nicotine use influences their brain development. What do you think parents could say to their kids if you had any advice about brain development?
Toshia Jordan: I think just like in some of our programs, like, when we use a little bit of brain science, like, what’s really going on with you, it really piques their curiosity. And so I think kind of kind of stepping out of the emotional space a little bit there and saying, this is what’s happening, but it needs to be something. For me, it needs to be something in the present, because if it’s too far out, that’s not going to be as helpful, you know? So it needs to be something in the present or, you know, soon that can affect maybe their athletic performance if they’re into sports or just the fact of addiction. Like, that really is a whole nother ballgame. And so, like, you want to be in control. You want to make the decisions. You don’t want something else making the decisions for you. So kind of coming up with some of those points that can kind of help the students see that it’s bigger than this one moment, but also providing them with the alternative that will actually help them with whatever they felt like that, you know, substance could help them do. Okay, no, that’s not a good idea. But here’s a healthy alternative I think is key, because a lot of times when you just say no or this isn’t good, but you don’t give them the resources to choose a better option, then it’s not really a good thing, you know, it doesn’t work out.
Megan Faber: I think what’s underpinning all of this wonderful advice is listening to youth. And when they come to you, listen to them and understand what they have to say is valuable. What they’re feeling is Validore understanding that if a youth is talking to you, you should take a second to sit down and listen to what they’re saying.
Toshia Jordan: And I know it can be hard. I am a parent. I know you’re juggling so many things, but I mean, it’s like so important. Especially if your youth still feels comfortable to come to you and to talk, then that means nothing else is going on here. I’m going to be completely present because you want them to continue to do that. And then when they can do that, then you can kind of speak more into their life a little bit more and longer. I think if they, they can see that you really care and are willing to take time to kind of, you know, engage. Even if it’s like sometimes it may not even be about a substance use issue. It could be just something that happened at school or just something that they’re interested in. Those times actually build trust and build up what you want. So when they do need to talk to you about something a little bit more intense, then they actually come to you and then you can be their, their trusted adult, you know? Yeah, definitely.
Megan Faber: And I think one of the things that I come across in the literature often is talking to really little kiddos about substance use. And they’re like, well, what am I going to say to my five year old? They don’t know what a vape is. They might not know what a vape is. Right. And I think the biggest piece of advice there is just keeping an open and honest line of communication, even from a really young age. And then once they hit that middle school, high school, that vulnerable period of development, then they know that that’s someone you can talk to. This is someone who’s not going to judge you. This is someone who’s there to support you.
Toshia Jordan: Exactly. It’s really about relationship building. I mean, it’s really some basic things, like we kind of spread out a little bit far and think it’s so complicated. But no, it’s really just about building that relationship. But also in any age, you know, when you see it, when you’re watching tv and it comes up on tv or someone’s vaping or in public, like, those are amazing opportunities to kind of bring up, you know, those issues and kind of set in place expectations that you may have and then also, you know, talk about consequences, what they think about it. Like, it’s an, it’s an opportune time to really start sowing some seeds so that, you know, as they grow and start asking more questions or need more assistance, they’re coming to you and you’ve always been talking about it. You know, it’s not something new or anything like that.
Megan Faber: So, yeah, we chatted a little bit about what parents can do, and I’m sure what your recommendations to teachers and everything would be very similar. But if you could implement one change within schools to support brain development, what would it be?
Toshia Jordan: Thinking about that it’s a little harder, like one thing, but I think the one thing would definitely be increasing trusted adults. And I know we keep coming back to that, but when you look at the data around that, just having students, having a trusted adult, it makes a huge difference in their overall experience. Just like a lot of times when we are doing any kind of prevention program, we always say, you know, seek out a trusted adult. But when the students don’t feel like they have a trusted adult, it’s really us just checking a box, and we need to kind of figure out how to bridge that gap. So I think definitely having trusted adults, because the data is clear that all the things that we are working, like bullying prevention, suicide prevention, all of the things that we’re working to assist them with, even them being involved in the community and stuff like that, is positively affected if they have a trusted adult. So I think that’s, for me, it’s a no brainer because we know it works, so let’s do it. I know. I know.
Megan Faber: So now we can shift a little bit into talking about be the one trusted adult campaign. So can you just give kind of an overview about this program?
Toshia Jordan: So just kind of like what I was sharing. We’re working in the community and we’re trying to, you know, encourage students around prevention efforts. And they kept saying, we don’t have a trusted adult. And we knew that we couldn’t keep moving forward without addressing that. So we looked up the data, realized this is definitely an important piece to kind of consider. And we just started increasing awareness around the need and around the fact that students didn’t feel like they had trusted adults and the value of trusted adults. And we would do ads, we would talk about it in meetings, presentations, that kind of thing. And then as we kept moving forward, we actually worked with a group at the high school to survey some of their peers to kind of find out what are the characteristics that students see in a trusted adult. And so that was really helpful. And so we started looking at that information and trying to see how can we use that and help educate others. And also we started seeing those characteristics popping out in different teachers. And, like, it would be great if we could kind of share what this teacher’s doing with this teacher or just with everybody so that we could continue to spread this. And I say teachers, because the students are there the most. Like, a lot of the data talks about, too, having a trusted adult outside the home. Like, the power of having that. So having one in the home is great, and having one outside the home. And so when we started thinking about that, it was like, teachers are amazing opportunity because the students are there. And so when we went, we started thinking about it and we wanted to kind of highlight a teacher that students voted as a trusted adult. We first had them nominate some teachers, and the end, we had them vote on one of the teachers that they felt was a really good trusted adult so we could recognize them. But we also asked them why? Because we wanted to collect that data, which it is amazing. We have actually, like 288 responses. So it’s like gold to me. Like, this is gold. And so just going through them and gives me culturals, even just talking about it, like, what’s amazing is that it’s not like super hard things that they’re saying. It’s like, I feel safe in the room. They see me past just a student. They see me as a person. You know, if I had something going on, they would listen. Like, it’s just some real basic things that we may think we’re doing as adults, but if it’s not being translated to the students, maybe there’s a couple things we could tweak. It doesn’t have to be super big. That could really make a difference. First of all, was just education awareness around the topic. And then we basically wanted to highlight a teacher, but we want to use the information that we gained from that process. Like, the students responses, even the teacher that was recognized, that got the most votes. We highlighted at an excellence in education award ceremony that the chamber and the Fuquay-Varina Education Council hosted in May. They did a ceremony so that all the principals could highlight one of their teachers. And so we were thankful that they allowed us to also present the be the one award at that event. And that’s where we took the student, the students that are the teacher that was recognized by the students. We highlighted him there. But so we also got his video and a take, and it was just amazing, his passion. It’s just really important to him each day to kind of be what the students need and provide a safe environment. Like, in a lot of those responses, it’s like a safe environment. Caring, good listener. Like, it’s the same kind of thing. But right now, we just want to take what we’ve learned from this, this last little bit and kind of share that with other teachers, other parents, other, you know, people that work with youth so that we can continue to increase not only education awareness, but hopefully trusted adults for our students. So, yeah, that is awesome.
Megan Faber: Okay, so I think in terms of the steps to get this program off the ground, I’m assuming first it was conversations among the coalition members, and then did you take it to school administration? Did you take it to students? Did you take it to teachers? How did that look? What was that process like?
Toshia Jordan: So, first, of course, we were talking about it within our coalition, and actually, there was another meeting that was more county wide, and that’s where it originally came up, you know, and then I took it back to the coalition because we were actually looking at bullying prevention, and we kept hitting the block like, well, the. The first, you know, checkpoint is a trusted adult, but we know, you know, that’s not really what the students feel like they have. So we can just do it, but we’re not really doing it. And so we really want to kind of step back a little bit. So we kind of piloted it in few ways. So we kind of said, let’s see what it would look like if we actually started addressing this. So that’s kind of how it started. And so then from there, we had connections in the one school, and so they were super supportive, and that’s kind of how it started. You know, with that particular school and with us kind of working directly with the teachers.
Megan Faber: That makes sense. And the teachers seem to buy into it right away. They were super supportive of the idea.
Toshia Jordan: Yeah. The ones that I’m working with, I don’t know, they’re super excited about it, and they see the value in it, I think, too, even for teachers that may have not, you know, put it in the forefront, I think by seeing it, they’re like, you know, like, that’s an easy. Because a lot of times students will be like, well, they. They say hey to me every time I come into the class. Well, you may not be doing that as a teacher, but it’s not that you don’t want to or can’t do it. So now you’re like, okay, that’s an easy one. You know, I can greet everyone when they come into the class, and that makes a big difference. Now, as we learn what the students are seeing, that gives them a, like, oh, they’re a trusted adult, and kind of just spreading that out amongst all the teachers and really adults in general, because it could be a youth group, it could be a church group, it could be all kinds of things that could be helpful, but I think it just makes a difference. But, yeah, the teachers seem to be excited. Even ones that were nominated, different ones, reached out and said, thank you to the coalition for doing this and highlighting this because it is important. They see it as important. After the teachers were nominated and the votes were done, we actually sent all the teachers that were nominated lanyards that said, be the one, you know, on it, and like a decal they can put up so that then also students can see who are the trusted adults. So we did that for all the nominees, and then, of course, we did a little something more for the teacher that was recognized as the one.
Megan Faber: So, yeah, so something I’m thinking about is that teachers are often kind of the ones expected to spearhead public health initiatives. It sounds like this program was kind of an automatic yes for them. Was it hard to ask teachers to do something additional?
Toshia Jordan: You know, there wasn’t a lot of additional to do. We did the heavy lifting. Now, one of the clubs did participate, did help out, and they actually did a survey of the students. You know, what their response. I think the teachers were asked to send out some surveys, but then really a lot of this, I know teachers are. They have a lot that they are responsible for. A lot of this could be done by clubs in the school. Like, a lot of times the clubs are looking for different outreach activities and things like that. But if they can work with a community group or coalition in their area right now, I mean, maybe as we go further, there might be other things that we’re interested in, but right now, we just really collected their votes and, you know, we actually cannot the teacher. But I think getting clubs involved is a good way not to add another thing for teachers to have to do. Yeah, yeah.
Megan Faber: And I think this is a great example for other organizations because of that exact element. It’s not asking teachers to think of something novel, put in a lot of time and effort I. To an already busy schedule. But this is something that would also benefit them because thinking upstream, thinking about those long term effects, if they build positive relationships, then the classroom experience might be a little bit easier. If they’re not addressing vaping issues in their classroom as often, then they might have a little bit easier of a time teaching calculus. I don’t know, like.
Toshia Jordan: Exactly.
Megan Faber: That’s kind of like the feedback loop that I’m seeing in my head.
Toshia Jordan: Exactly. Yeah. A couple things there. One is just looking at brain science. If anybody feels safe in their environment, they’re going to be more creative. They’re going to be more able to learn. All of those things kind of line up. And so there’s a benefit to doing a couple little simple things that changes the environment. It’s going to actually get everybody to the goals that they’re looking for. And then also, I talked to a number of groups, and one was a group of teachers, and they were talking about ways that they can incorporate some of the coping strategies in our wellness backpack, like into their day to day activities and how one teacher, she actually does a Friday activity. I was just blown away by just kind of incorporating some of these coping strategies. So the students are learning these things throughout their day, you know, and in each teacher, like, took a couple minutes at the beginning of class, just, okay, so we’re just going to settle down, regroup before we start. Then the students start learning. This is something that you can do to kind of help reset and balance your nervous system before you’re about to do something. It’s huge, and it only takes a couple minutes.
Megan Faber: It makes so much sense. And hearing about it happening in the community is such a powerful example. How do you think this campaign can help support a tobacco free generation?
Toshia Jordan: Yeah, I think definitely. Like, in order for us to really get to that tobacco free generation, we are definitely going to have to go upstream. And it’s not necessarily the low hanging fruit that we’re going to be, you know, kind of tapping or it seems sometimes it seems like when we’re talking about trusted adults or we’re talking about coming strategies, it seems like it’s totally unrelated when it is so related. And so I think if we are truly wanting tobacco free generation, we’re going to have to step back and go upstream and deal with some of these issues, build protective factors or increase protective factors like the trusted adults and others. And then also, you know, build in these coping strategies so that students can know that there are alternative ways to cope. But that’s the, that’s the only way I can see, because there’s always some new product, there’s always some new thing that you, if you’re constantly fighting on this end, you know, trying to stay abreast, like, there’s, it’s impossible because there’s always a new product, there’s always another workaround. And so you need to kind of address the reason why students are even considering that as an option and kind of hang out there for a little bit as well. I mean, you really have to do it all, but there’s a big part that needs to be happening right there as well.
Megan Faber: Right. And we’ve learned that vaping companies, they’re so good at thinking about new ways to really target youth. And so that’s hard to keep up with. That’s hard to find research for and kind of implement those policies quickly enough to prevent youth from using them. So thinking about these more upstream efforts, I think makes up so much sense.
Toshia Jordan: It just, it does make sense. Yeah. Someone said it this way. They actually gave the example of this stream. They’re like, if you’ve got babies in the stream, like, try to get them out of the stream. Somebody needs to go up top and figure why they’re even in the stream, you know, kind of thing. They kind of did an example like that. I’m like, that explains it so clearly. Like, yeah, we need people down here getting them out of the stream, but we need to figure out why they’re in the stream in the first place and then stop it there. We definitely need to do cessation work because I just, it, I cringe at the fact that there are a number of students that may be addicted, but they don’t have any help. They may want to not to stop, but they don’t have, they’re afraid to share that they’re doing it and they don’t have the resources or know about the resources to stop. And I’m like, we’ve got to fix that. And so there’s that piece. But, you know, all throughout the whole continuum there needs to be work, but you definitely need to go upstream to kind of, to handle some of the things. So they don’t even start it. So that’s important. And starting younger, a lot of times by middle school there might be some things going on. So even starting, like you had mentioned earlier, starting younger and educating on their, you know, their level, of course, giving them resources, coping strategies that they can already have in place that they already practice. So by the time when they have those overwhelming days or things going on, they know what to do. So I think that’s really important. Yeah.
Megan Faber: Yeah. Adolescence is such an interesting hard period of development, and I think just preparing any adolescent in all the ways that we can make such a difference, I think so, too.
Toshia Jordan: And I also think just there is such an amazing time as well. Like when you look at, and I always go back to the brain development, there’s a lot going on. And if we can, like, tweak it and really look at the positive. Like, no, you know, build new neural pathways, but you really have a special gift right now during adolescence. So you want to use that and basically educating about these things, but also, like, turning a little bit, like, making it positive, I think, is huge because they’re like, okay, wait, I can do that. You know, like, I want to. You know what? You want to grow. Focus on that. Like, those are some important things to do.
Megan Faber: So how have students responded to the be the one trusted adult campaign?
Toshia Jordan: It’s been really positive. Like, they were really, you could tell, like, even in some of the responses around the teacher that had the most responses, like they were dedicated to say, in this, this person needs to be recognized because of this, this and this. And so they see the value in it and they really appreciate it. They appreciate adults really being there for them. They appreciate because it’s almost like it’s an extra, which it shouldn’t be, but it feels like just looking at the responses that they feel like, wow, they really care because they’re doing this. They’re spending the time. They are, you know, listening to me. And so it was really powerful to me. Like I said, I get cold chills reading through all those comments because they really wanted to highlight the ones that they felt had been a trusted adult for them. They really wanted to recognize them. And so I thought that was important and spoke volumes.
Megan Faber: Yes, it absolutely does. How have teachers and school staff responded to this program?
Toshia Jordan: Yeah, it’s been all positive. I’ve not talked to all teachers. The ones that I’ve talked to have been really positive. And again, they feel the importance. They see that there’s an importance and they want to be a part. And, like, the ones that have helped me directly, they were super supportive and, you know, trying to further the mission. So I think it was good. Yeah.
Megan Faber: Have you heard anything from parents? Has there been any feedback from parents in the community?
Toshia Jordan: There has been a couple where they just talked about certain teachers that were nominated, basically, were they know them to be a really good, you know, teacher or do really good because they had to work with them, with their student. And so I thought that was interesting. We had a couple, you know, people respond in that way, and I thought that was powerful as well because kind of get that whole circle.
Megan Faber: Can you tell us a little bit more about the wellness backpack program?
Toshia Jordan: It started out being a handout. Okay. So we had a handout in our toolkit that the coalition had put together just to kind of increase awareness around some issues that would help around mental wellness but then as we were sharing that, we were sharing with a number of people and teachers, they wanted a presentation, and so it kind of started building more until what it is now. But basically, with the wellness backpacks, we’re really just teaching coping strategies. But in order to take out the stigma, we just named it a wellness backpack. And then we add a little bit of brain science to increase the curiosity in the students, which makes a big difference. And that’s kind of how we’re educating and building skills around mental wellness.
Megan Faber: So how do you think this campaign can help a tobacco free generation?
Toshia Jordan: Well, again, it is about having alternative coping strategies. And so what I found in sharing the presentation around the wellness backpacks is that students will. They’ll be like, oh, that’s what’s going on with me. They realize, okay, and then I can say, well, this coping strategy helps. And this is why it helps. This is what’s happening in the brain. And there’s, like, this light bulb that goes off, and then I think it clicks. And, you know, and so that’s when they’re, like, interested in, oh, let me try that. Or even when we have the calming strips out, I’m like, just feel it. Just touch it. And they’re like, oh, wow. You know, like, I can see that. Because we know that something, when someone’s activated emotionally and they’re. You just have a ton of things going on. You need something sensory to come back. You know what they say? Come back online, right, to regulate that amygdala. And so they need something sensory. And just by having those little calming strips, which I’m not sure if you’re familiar with, those are, like, basically a sticker. But it’s. There’s some texture to. It helps you to come back into the moment, and then that way you can make better decisions and kind of deal with whatever’s going on, but they’re just amazed. And sharing, like, this is what’s happening when you have this experience. And this is how this coping strategy uses brain science to kind of help you kind of regulate is huge.
Megan Faber: I’m thinking that’s a great thing for youth to be learning. So instead of having that activation in their brain and turning to an e seg, they can instead be like, wait, I have this whole toolkit, this whole backpack of tools that I can turn to instead of a vape, instead of an e cigarette, insert tobacco product here. But, yeah, they can have this wonderful list of things. List of strategies.
Toshia Jordan: Exactly. And what we want to do, too, is get them, tell them about them educate them about them and then encourage them to start practicing. So because we know that if you don’t practice and you’re in that moment, that’s not going to be your default. So you don’t want to practice them all, but practice your favorites. Like we kind of build in how you can do gratitude daily or how you can do these different things so that it’s going to be the thing that you go to when you need it.
Megan Faber: And from what I’m hearing, I think this is a great tool not only to prevent tobacco and nicotine product use, but also it could help people quit. It could help to be a sensation resource. So it could help people think beforehand, maybe like the younger middle school people who have not been as exposed to these products, they can already have that language, those tools to use, but then somebody who might already be using these products that can help them kickstart the journey.
Toshia Jordan: Exactly. Yes, definitely.
Megan Faber: So with the wellness backpacks, can you describe a little bit what that process looks like? So is that somebody from your coalition going into classrooms directly, is that giving a teacher handouts and presentations to give to their class who’s kind of having that interaction with the students?
Toshia Jordan: So a lot of times they’re just me. I’m the one. But basically, we’ll go into the school and we do presentation. So there’s been a school that asked us to come back each semester to kind of do presentations around this. So basically we go in and we do the presentation, which basically gives them some background information and kind of gives a little bit of brain science. And then we go through what we’re calling brain hacks. Like, why does this work, you know, kind of thing. And so we go through a list of those, and then we give them a lot. We give them like, a goodie bag, I guess. And it has a lot of the things, like sometimes it will have the calming strips or the stress. We have a brain, so the stress brains are, you know, the little things you can squeeze just a number of different things. We, and you’ll be amazed. I’ll call them decals, but they’re really stickers. The students absolutely love those because a lot of times you just need something to encourage you, something that you resonate with. And so we give out a lot of those that they put on their computers, their phones, you know, water bottles, all kinds of things. So we just give them a couple resources to kind of get going, and because that’s, that’s kind of what we do, but we just encourage them to pick a couple to practice and try to practice them regularly so that when you need them, you have them right.
Megan Faber: My high school brain is imagining somebody wonderful and lovely and knowledgeable coming in to talk to students and getting blank faces. So I would love to hear a little bit more about how you engage the students, how you kind of get that buy in.
Toshia Jordan: Well, see, the thing is, sometimes you do get blank faces. It’s amazing because. Or they might be drawing and you think they’re not even paying attention because we’ll do like a little giveaway at the end where, you know, if you can answer some of the questions from the presentation, you can grab an extra little goodie over here and you’ll be surprised how that wakes them up. And they’re answering the questions. And so they were listening. And I think when the teacher had all the students share what you got back from the presentation and I got like, I know, it was almost like 50 responses. It was amazing. Like, I was so emotional because it was so sweet. But, but you kind of see how they do pick up this stuff and they do, like, they’re, they may not resonate with everything you say, but there’ll be one thing. They’re like, oh, that’s why I got upset like that the other day. Oh, and this is what I can do next time. Or my friend does this all the time. This is what I can share. A lot of times I’ll be like, can I share this? Can I take one for my friend or my sister, you know, kind of thing? And so, you know, there are some, they’re not interested at all. But what I hope is that you always sow seeds. Like, they may not be interested today, but because you sow that seed, maybe when they need it later, it will ring a bell or something will ring a bell. And they’re like, oh, I remember when that lady came in. I remember that she said that. And I can help. You know, I can. I can use that noun. A lot of times we get frustrated because we think that the students aren’t paying attention or they are not 100% engaged, but you will be surprised what they are picking up. And also, so just, just by being there and showing that you care is like half, half done, right. And I think that’s a lot of what they need to see.
Megan Faber: So, yeah, I think that definitely ties into what we were chatting about earlier about when you’re faced with the option to pick up an e s egg, a vape, anything like that, you can say, like, wait a minute, I’m having these feelings that, that lady was talking about and she said other things that might be better for my health and better for my development.
Toshia Jordan: Right.
Megan Faber: So, yeah, planting those seeds is so huge. What feedback have you gotten from students, school staff about the wellness backpacks? I know you chatted a little bit about, I think, the quotes that you had gotten for them, the thank you cards.
Toshia Jordan: Yeah, it was great because they had colored them, you know, everything. Like, I keep those. But yeah, so a lot of thank yous from the student, but also from the teachers. And I think, I think just the fact that they asked us to come back semester after semester says a lot as well. I think they really appreciate it. Got great feedback from teachers as well, students. And actually, now that I’ve started doing it, like I’ve said in the community, it’s amazing. Like the last one I did, they were like, okay, so how can I volunteer? I know people that can use this. I want to learn by volunteering so I can then share it with others. So I think there’s a lot of potential is so like, it’s easy. To me it seems so easy. The sit is simple, what we can share, and it makes such a huge difference. So I get super excited when people learn about it and they want to share it. There’s being odds sometimes we’ll set up at the growers market as well. And so there’s been churches that are interested in getting it to their students. So I think the more that we share it, more people will know. But the people that have come in contact with it, like the teachers, some of the parents, community members and students, they really enjoyed it, they like it and they want to know more. So I think that’s huge. I think it’s huge. Yeah.
Megan Faber: So what advice would you have for other organizations that might be interested in implementing these types of programs?
Toshia Jordan: I would think just get started. Like a lot of times it seems so big, and it seems like, okay, there’s so many obstacles, but as you start to move forward, things start opening up. People, you find the people that are interested in what you’re talking about or the concerns that maybe or mission you have. And I think it’s just to get started. Like the coalition is unique and amazing because we have a number of people already on the coalition, from the police department to the southern regional center to the growers market, parents or the church, like a number of different people already on there. And so that really kind of helps us kind of brainstorm and get it out to different, different groups. But I think that just getting started and then finding a, you know, people that have similar missions, it doesn’t have to be like exactly your mission, but similar missions. People that care about young people, you know, that’s huge. And it may not be substance use prevention, it could be something else, but it’s going to, you know, having the trusted adults, having the students have coping strategies that work is going to help all those other issues as well. And so just coming together, but basically just getting started because there’s people that care and you’ll, those people start rising to the top once you start sharing what you care about and the things that you’re doing to, I love to.
Megan Faber: Think about, like, the investment that we make in youth is an investment in society.
Toshia Jordan: It is. Yeah.
Megan Faber: So the things that we’re doing for middle schoolers and high schoolers, especially at this vulnerable period in development, that’s going to make the world a better place. Like, yes, at the end of the day, that’s it.
Toshia Jordan: And they make such a big difference. It would be different if it’s like, oh, well, it helps a little bit, but no, it helps a lot and it makes a difference in so many different areas. To me, again, it’s just like, you know, what are we doing? Let’s just start here. Hang out here. These are easy topics to get out to people. They make a huge difference. And so many outcomes, right.
Megan Faber: A tobacco free generation, one of the outcomes that we care about a whole lot, but so many other outcomes. If you could tell parents one thing or give them one piece of advice about their child’s brain development, what would it be?
Toshia Jordan: I think I would tell them about the importance of a safe environment, not only physically, but emotionally. Because like I mentioned, kind of hinted or hinted at earlier, when students are safe, not only physical, we know that’s a given. Right. But emotionally safe as well. They thrive. Like, we don’t have to coax them. We don’t have to do all the extra things that we’re doing. They thrive. They want to learn, they’re creative. They do amazing things and things that probably we don’t even think about. Like they come up with great ideas to make big differences. And so a lot of times we don’t consider, you know, we, like, they’re physically safe. Check. But that emotional safety, knowing that they can talk to you, knowing that they can have big feelings and we can work through them together, it’s okay. Look, those are huge things. And, and I think just kind of sitting around making sure that they’re not only safe physically, but they’re safe emotionally. I think is huge. And that’s where I would start. One of the big things with, you know, the. Be the one campaign, too, or just connection in general, like a trauma happens to anyone, especially if you’re thinking about children, if they feel like they have support, they respond different. Like they have a trusted adult with them. They have. Or even with adults, if we have support. But our nervous system’s like, okay, they can deal versus if they don’t have support. So it’s just educating and being willing to do a couple tweaks and we can make a big difference.
Megan Faber: Yeah, right. So just one closing question, kind of reiterating what we started off this episode with. If you could implement one change, if you could recommend one policy to schools, to decision makers to help support brain development and help youth stay away from substances, what would it be?
Toshia Jordan: I think it would be the same. I think the safe environment is where it’s at. Because even, like, if you’re thinking about in the school, in learning, or in them growing and becoming all that, they can be the students, like, it is them feeling comfortable and confident in the fact that you know who they are and doing life in a safe space. So, I think that would be the huge thing. And then after that, really close would be, we got to get them a trusted adult. You know, it’s so important, and these things are so easy. But I think it doesn’t have to be rocket science. It could be brain science. Definitely like it. We really have what it takes. Like a lot of times, we will, you know, meet and try to figure it out, but we already, we know and we can implement some simple things that will make a great difference in our children’s lives. And I would really encourage the policymakers and schools just to figure out in your realm of influence, how can you support students in a way that they feel safe, not only physically, but emotionally? And if we all started doing that, we did that at church, we did that at home, we did that in the schools. Could you imagine the difference that we could make?
Megan Faber: As we wrap up today’s episode, we want to thank Toshia for joining us and discussing all of the wonderful work that the Fuquay-Varina coalition for a healthy and safe community is doing. Our conversation doesn’t end here, though. If today’s topic was particularly interesting or you have thoughts, stories, or questions that you would like us to explore in further episodes, please reach out and follow NCTFG on social media. You can find us @TobaccoFreeNC on Facebook, Instagram X, and LinkedIn. You can also visit our website. That’s linked in the description below to get updates on upcoming episodes. This podcast is supported by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Tobacco Prevention Control Branch and the University of North Carolina’s Tobacco Prevention and Evaluation Program.